Ms. Clara Barton
Civil War Nurse, Superintendent of the Sherborn Reformatory
Founder of the American Red Cross
December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912
Clara Barton was most famously known for being a nurse during the American Civil War and for founding the American Red Cross. However, she was also the Superintendent of the Sherborn Reformatory for Women, founded in 1877.
Before the War, Barton was a teacher for 12 years, on Canada and Georgia. Elizabeth Brown Pryor of the University of Pennsylvania notes that “Barton fared well as a teacher; she knew how to handle rambunctious children, particularly the boys since as a child she enjoyed her boy cousins' and brothers' company. She learned how to act like them, making it easier for her to relate to and control the boys in her care.”
She studied Language and Writing at the Clinton Liberal Institute in New York. After University, she took up many jobs including superintendents of various schools, the first female clerk at the U.S. patent office in Washington D.C., the Superintendent of the Sherborn Reformatory for Women, and an Administrative Copyist at the Patent Office.
Before establishing the reformatory, Barton served as a nurse in the Civil War. She provided exceptional care beyond that of a typical nurse. She was known for electively reading to the men, talking to them, and aiding them in writing letters to their families.
According to Corra Bacon-Foster of the Columbia Historical Society, “she was appointed by a Union General as the 'lady in charge' of the hospitals at the front of the Army of the James. Among her more harrowing experiences was an incident in which a bullet tore through the sleeve of her dress without striking her and killed a man to whom she was tending. She was known as the 'Florence Nightingale of America' and the 'Angel of the Battlefield' after she came to the aid of the overwhelmed surgeon on duty following the battle of Cedar Mountain in Northern Virginia in August 1862.”
After the war, she traveled to Europe where she was inspired by the medical systems. This inspiration led to her found the American Red Cross on May 21, 1881.
Today, the American Red Cross remains one of the most prestigious medical organizations in the United States and around the world.
After the war, Clara Barton served as Superintendent of the Sherborn Reformatory for Women in 1833. In this role, she was heavily interested in rehabilitation.
Many years later, the town of Framingham acquired the land. Today, the facility is known as the Massachusetts Correctional Institution (MCI) of Framingham.
Civil War Nurse, Superintendent of the Sherborn Reformatory
Founder of the American Red Cross
December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912
Clara Barton was most famously known for being a nurse during the American Civil War and for founding the American Red Cross. However, she was also the Superintendent of the Sherborn Reformatory for Women, founded in 1877.
Before the War, Barton was a teacher for 12 years, on Canada and Georgia. Elizabeth Brown Pryor of the University of Pennsylvania notes that “Barton fared well as a teacher; she knew how to handle rambunctious children, particularly the boys since as a child she enjoyed her boy cousins' and brothers' company. She learned how to act like them, making it easier for her to relate to and control the boys in her care.”
She studied Language and Writing at the Clinton Liberal Institute in New York. After University, she took up many jobs including superintendents of various schools, the first female clerk at the U.S. patent office in Washington D.C., the Superintendent of the Sherborn Reformatory for Women, and an Administrative Copyist at the Patent Office.
Before establishing the reformatory, Barton served as a nurse in the Civil War. She provided exceptional care beyond that of a typical nurse. She was known for electively reading to the men, talking to them, and aiding them in writing letters to their families.
According to Corra Bacon-Foster of the Columbia Historical Society, “she was appointed by a Union General as the 'lady in charge' of the hospitals at the front of the Army of the James. Among her more harrowing experiences was an incident in which a bullet tore through the sleeve of her dress without striking her and killed a man to whom she was tending. She was known as the 'Florence Nightingale of America' and the 'Angel of the Battlefield' after she came to the aid of the overwhelmed surgeon on duty following the battle of Cedar Mountain in Northern Virginia in August 1862.”
After the war, she traveled to Europe where she was inspired by the medical systems. This inspiration led to her found the American Red Cross on May 21, 1881.
Today, the American Red Cross remains one of the most prestigious medical organizations in the United States and around the world.
After the war, Clara Barton served as Superintendent of the Sherborn Reformatory for Women in 1833. In this role, she was heavily interested in rehabilitation.
Many years later, the town of Framingham acquired the land. Today, the facility is known as the Massachusetts Correctional Institution (MCI) of Framingham.
